AC power supply source switching apparatus

Cross reference to related application

This application is based on Japanese patent application NO. 2013-251180 filed on Dec. 4, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Field

The present disclosure relates to an AC power supply source switching apparatus.

Background

Recently electric vehicles (electrically-driven vehicles), which deliver less environmental burden than conventional vehicles using fossil fuel, are under development. If the electric vehicle is required to perform the same performance as the conventional vehicle, a high-cost secondary battery need be used and hence the secondary battery impedes wide application of electric vehicles.

It is proposed to provide a system, which promotes electric vehicles by effectively using a secondary battery of an electric vehicle as an electric power source for home use (for example, JP-A-2002-315193).

This system includes a switching device, which connects either one of a commercial AC power supply system and a secondary battery to an electric load at a home and disconnects the other and the home electric load. The switching device performs either one of first and second switching states. In the first switching state, the electric power is supplied from the AC power supply system to the home load. In the second switching state, the electric power is supplied from the secondary battery to the home load.

A switching device may be formed as a comparative embodiment, which has as shown in FIG. 19 a switch 10 A and a switch 10 B. The switch 10 A is a power supply system side switch provided between a commercial AC power supply system 4 and an electric load 3 at a home. The switch 10 B is a secondary battery side switch provided between an electric vehicle 2 , on which a DC secondary battery 2 a and a DC-AC conversion unit 2 b are mounted, and the load 3 .

For example, in a case that the power supply is switched from the first switching state, in which the load 3 is connected to the AC power supply system, to the second switching state, in which the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side, it is necessary to turn on the switch 10 B after turning off the switch 10 A so that the AC power supply system side and the secondary battery 2 a side are not connected to the load 3 at the same time. If the switches 10 A and 10 B are formed of electromagnetic switches, respectively, the switches 10 A and 10 B need long time to perform the switching from the first switching state to the second switching state. This switching time is likely to cause a temporary shut-down of electric power to the home load. If the switches 10 A and 10 B are formed of semiconductor switches such as triacs, respectively, the switching time may be shortened. However, a leak current flows continuously under a state that the switch 10 A is in the off-state. As a result, the AC power supply system and the load 3 are half-connected to each other.

Summary

It is therefore an object to provide an AC power supply source switching apparatus, which shortens a switching time required for switching from one switching state that one of an AC power supply system and a DC secondary battery is connected to an electric load, to the other switching state, in which the other of the AC power supply system and the DC secondary battery is connected to the load.

According to one aspect, an AC power supply source switching apparatus comprises: a first mechanical switch provided between a load and a power supply system, which supplies AC power as system power; a first semiconductor switch provided in series to the first mechanical switch between the load and the power supply system; a second mechanical switch provided between the load and a DC-AC conversion device, which converts DC power of a secondary battery to AC power; a second semiconductor switch provided in series to the second mechanical switch between the load and the DC-AC conversion device; and a switching control part for controlling the first and the second mechanical switches and the first and the second semiconductor switches to switch over a switching state from a first state to a second state. In the first state the load is connected to the power supply system only and disconnected from the secondary battery. In the second state, the load is connected to only the secondary battery and disconnected from the power supply system.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an AC power supply source switching apparatus according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by a control part shown in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to an eighth embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing switching processing executed by the control part according to a ninth, embodiment; and

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a switching part according to a conventional apparatus.

Embodiment

An AC power supply source switching apparatus will be described with reference to plural embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, same or equivalent parts are designated with same reference numerals for brevity of description. First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of an AC power supply source switching apparatus 1 .

The AC power supply source switching apparatus 1 includes a switching part 10 , a discharge detection part 20 , a system power detection part 30 , a failure detection part 40 , a display part 50 and a control part 60 .

The switching part 10 is for connecting either one of a power supply system 4 and an electric vehicle 2 to an electric load 3 at home or the like, that is, outside the vehicle 2 . The electric vehicle 2 includes a secondary battery (DC battery). 2 a and a DC-AC conversion device 2 b . The switching part 10 includes mechanical switches 11 , 12 and semiconductor switches 13 , 14 , which are electronic switches as opposed to the mechanical switches. The semiconductor switch requires shorter response time than the mechanical switch in completing respective turn-on and turn-off operations. The mechanical switch and the semiconductor switch are labeled as M-SW and S-SW in FIG. 1 and other figures. The load 3 is an electric device such as home electric appliances provided in each home. The power supply system 4 is a commercial AC power supply system for supplying homes and facilities with two-phase AC electric power.

The mechanical switch 11 and the semiconductor switch 13 , which form a first mechanical switch and a first semiconductor switch, respectively, are connected in series between the power supply system 4 and the load 3 . The mechanical switch 11 is positioned at the power supply system 4 side relative to the semiconductor switch 13 . That is, the mechanical switch 11 is provided between the power supply system 4 and the semiconductor switch 13 . The mechanical switch 12 and the semiconductor switch 14 , which form a second mechanical switch and a second semiconductor switch, respectively, are connected in series between the DC-AC conversion device 2 b of the electric vehicle 2 and the load 3 . The mechanical switch 12 is located at the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b side relative to the semiconductor switch 14 . That is, the mechanical switch 12 is provided between the semiconductor switch 14 and the DC-AC conversion device 2 b . In the following description, the mechanical switches 11 , 12 and the semiconductor switches 13 , 14 are occasionally referred to simply as switches 11 to 14 , respectively.

In the electric vehicle 2 having the secondary battery 2 a and the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b , the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b converts DC power outputted from the secondary battery 2 a to two-phase AC power. The secondary battery 2 a is primarily for supplying electric power to an electric motor for travel of the vehicle, and is a lithium-ion battery, for example.

Each of the mechanical switches 11 and 12 is a contact-type relay switch having a fixed contact and a movable contact. The contact-type relay switch connects its two terminals under an on-state, in which its movable contact contacts its fixed contact thereby to connect the two terminals to allow current flow. The contact-type relay switch disconnects its two terminals under an off-state, in which its movable contact is disengaged from its fixed contact. For example, in the mechanical switch 11 , the two terminals are formed of terminals, one of which is on the power supply system 4 side and the other of which is on the semiconductor switch 13 side.

Each of the semiconductor switches 13 and 14 is an AC semiconductor switch such as a triac, which allows current flow in both directions. The discharge detection part 20 monitors AC power discharged from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b . The system power detection part 30 monitors AC power discharged from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 side. In the following description, the AC power discharged from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 side is referred to as system power. Similarly, the AC power discharged from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b is referred to as discharge power.

The failure detection part 40 checks whether each of the switches 11 to 14 is failing. Specifically, the failure detection part 40 detects a voltage between the two terminals of each of the switches 11 to 14 and checks whether each switch is failing based on a detected voltage. The display part 50 is a display panel for displaying various information such as failure information of the switches 11 to 14 . The control part 60 is formed of a microcomputer, a memory and the like and executes programmed switching processing to control the switches 11 to 14 .

The switching processing executed by the control part 60 in the first embodiment will be described next with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over a switching state from a state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side to a state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over a switching state from a state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to a state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. The switching processing of FIG. 2 and the switching processing of FIG. 3 will be described below.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 2 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 .

First, the control part 60 turns on the mechanical switch 12 at step 100 . Thus the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b and the semiconductor switch 14 are connected.

The control part 60 then turns off the semiconductor switch 13 step 101 . Thus the mechanical switch 11 and the load 3 are disconnected.

The control part 60 then quickly turns on the semiconductor switch 14 at step 102 . Thus the mechanical switch 12 and the load 3 are connected. That is, the load 3 and the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b are connected through the mechanical switch 12 and the semiconductor switch 14 .

The control part 60 then turns off the mechanical switch 11 at step 103 . Thus the semiconductor switch 13 and the power supply system 4 are disconnected. That is, the load 3 and the power supply system 4 are disconnected by the semiconductor switch 13 and the mechanical switch 11 .

As described above, since the mechanical switch 11 is turned off after the semiconductor switch 13 is turned off, the load 3 and the power supply system 4 can be disconnected by the mechanical switch 11 in a short time as shown in FIG. 4 . Further, since the semiconductor switch 14 is turned on after the mechanical switch 12 is turned on, the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b and the load 3 can be connected to each other in a short time. For this reason, a switching time required for the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the power supply system 4 is connected to the load 3 to the state that the secondary battery 2 a is connected to the load 3 .

In FIG. 4 , the switching time between time t1 for turning on the mechanical switch 12 and time t4 for turning off the mechanical switch 11 is assumed to be 500 msec., and the switching time between time t2 for turning off the semiconductor switch 13 and time t3 for turning on the semiconductor switch 14 is assumed to be 10 msec.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 3 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 .

First, the control part 60 turns on the mechanical switch 11 at step 104 . Thus the power supply system 4 and the semiconductor switch 13 are connected.

The control part 60 then turns off the semiconductor switch 14 at step 105 . Thus the mechanical switch 12 and the load 3 are disconnected.

The control part 60 then quickly turns on the semiconductor switch 13 at step 106 . Thus the mechanical switch 11 and the load 3 are connected. That is, the load 3 and the power supply system 4 are connected through the mechanical switch 11 and the semiconductor switch 13 .

The control part 60 then turns off the mechanical switch 12 at step 107 . Thus the semiconductor switch 14 and the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b are disconnected. That is, the load 3 and the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b are disconnected by the mechanical switch 12 and the semiconductor switch 14 .

As described above, since the mechanical switch 12 is turned off after the semiconductor switch 14 is turned off, the load 3 and the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b can be disconnected by the mechanical switch 12 in a short time. Further, since the semiconductor switch 13 is turned on after the mechanical switch 11 is turned on, the power supply system 4 and the load 3 can be connected to each other in a short time.

For this reason, a switching time required for the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the secondary battery 2 a is connected to the load 3 to the state that the power supply system 4 is connected to the load 3 , is shortened.

According to the first embodiment described above, the switching time required for switching the switching state, in which either one of the power supply system 4 side and the secondary battery 2 a side are connected to the load 3 and the other of the two and the load 3 are disconnected, to the state that the other of the two and the load 3 are connected and the one of the two and the load 3 are disconnected, is shortened. Second Embodiment

A second embodiment is an example, in which the switching state is switched over after confirming that sufficient discharge power is available in the first embodiment. That is, after confirming the sufficient discharge power in excess of a predetermined discharge power threshold value is available, the switching state is switched over from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery. 2 a side. Further, after confirming that sufficient system power in excess of a predetermined system power threshold value is available, the switching state is switched over from the state that load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side.

The switching processing executed by the control part 60 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 . FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. The switching processing of FIG. 5 and the switching processing of FIG. 6 will be described below.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 5 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 .

In FIG. 5 , step 110 is provided to be executed before steps 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 in FIG. 2 . Step 110 is for checking based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 whether the discharge power, which is supplied from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b , is sufficient.

When a check result is YES at step 110 based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 thereby indicating that the sufficient discharge power to be supplied from the secondary battery 2 a side to the load 3 side is available based on the discharge detection part 20 , each of steps 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 is executed in the similar manner as in the first embodiment ( FIG. 2 ). That is, after confirming that the secondary battery 2 a has sufficient discharge power, the switching state is switched over from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side.

When a check result is NO at step 110 based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 thereby indicating that the sufficient discharge power is not available from the secondary battery 2 a side to the load 3 side, the switching processing is finished.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 6 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 .

In FIG. 6 , step 111 is provided to be executed before steps 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 in FIG. 3 . Step 111 is for checking based on the detection signal of the system power detection part 30 whether supply power, which is supplied from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 , is sufficient.

When a check result is YES at step 111 based on the detection signal of the system power detection part 30 thereby indicating that the sufficient system power to be supplied from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 side is available, each of steps 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 is executed in the similar manner as in the first embodiment ( FIG. 3 ). That is, after confirming that the power supply system 4 has the sufficient system power, the switching state is switched over from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side.

When a check result at step 111 is NO based on the detection signal of the system power detection part 30 thereby indicating that the sufficient system power is not available from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 , the switching processing is finished.

According to the second embodiment described above, the control part 60 causes the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side after confirming that the secondary battery 2 a has the sufficient discharge power. Thus the electric power can be supplied to the load 3 after the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a . The control part 60 causes, after confirming that the power supply system 4 has the sufficient system power, the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 . The electric power can be supplied to the load 3 after the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 . Third Embodiment

A third embodiment is an example, in which the switching state is switched over after confirming that the sufficient system power or the sufficient discharge power is not available in the second embodiment. That is, after confirming that the sufficient system power is not available, the switching state is switched over from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. Further, after confirming that sufficient discharge power is not available, the switching state is switched over from the state that load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side.

The switching processing executed by the control part 60 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 . FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. The switching processing of FIG. 7 and the switching processing of FIG. 8 will be described below.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 7 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 .

In FIG. 7 , step 112 is provided to be executed before steps 110 , 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 in FIG. 5 are executed.

Step 112 is for checking based on the detection signal of the system power detection part 30 whether the system power, which is supplied from the power supply system 4 , is insufficient, that is smaller than the predetermined system power threshold value.

When a check result is YES at step 110 based on the detection signal of the system power detection part 30 thereby indicating that the system power to be supplied from the power supply system 4 to the load 3 side is insufficient, each of steps 110 , 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 is executed in the similar manner as in the second embodiment ( FIG. 5 ).

When a check result is NO at step 112 based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 thereby indicating that the sufficient discharge power is available from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b , step 112 is repeated.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 8 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 .

In FIG. 8 , step 113 is provided to be executed before steps 111 , 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 in FIG. 6 . Step 113 is for checking based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 whether the discharge power, which is supplied from the secondary battery 2 a through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b , is insufficient, that is, smaller than the predetermined discharge power threshold value.

When a check result is YES at step 112 based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 thereby indicating that the discharge power to be supplied from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b is insufficient, each of steps 111 , 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 is executed in the similar manner as in the second embodiment ( FIG. 6 ).

When a check result is NO at step 113 based on the detection signal of the discharge detection part 20 thereby indicating that the sufficient discharge power is available from the secondary battery 2 a to the load 3 side through the DC-AC conversion unit 2 b , step 113 is repeated.

According to the third embodiment described above, the control part 60 causes the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side after determining that the system power available from the power supply system 4 is insufficient but the discharge power from the secondary battery 2 a side is sufficient. The control part 60 causes, after determining that the discharge power from the secondary battery 2 a side is insufficient but the system power from the power supply system 4 is sufficient, the switching part 10 to switch over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. Thus, even when the system power or the discharge power becomes insufficient, the electric power can be supplied to the load 3 stably by controlling the switching part 10 by the control part 60 . Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment is an example, in which any failure among the switches 11 to 14 is notified externally when it is determined that any one of the switches 11 to 14 has a failure or abnormality when the switching state is switched over by the switching part 10 from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side.

The switching processing executed by the control part 60 in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 . FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. The switching processing of FIG. 9 and the switching processing of FIG. 10 will be described below.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 9 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 .

In FIG. 9 , steps 100 A, 101 A, 102 A and 103 A are provided further in the flowchart of FIG. 5 .

Step 100 A is for checking whether the mechanical switch 12 is actually turned on after step 100 is executed. Specifically, it is checked whether a voltage (referred to as an inter-terminal voltage) between an input-side terminal and an output-side terminal of the mechanical switch 12 , which is detected by the failure detection part 40 , is equal to or larger than a predetermined voltage threshold value. When the inter-terminal voltage is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO at step 100 A thereby indicating at step 120 that the mechanical switch 12 is not turned on and hence the mechanical switch 12 is failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 at step 121 that the switch 12 has a failure.

When the inter-terminal voltage of the mechanical switch 12 is lower than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 100 A thereby indicating that the mechanical switch 12 is actually turned on. Then the semiconductor switch 13 is turned off at step 101 .

It is further checked at step 101 A whether the semiconductor switch 13 is actually turned off. Specifically, it is checked whether a voltage (referred to as inter-terminal voltage) between input-side and output-side terminals of the semiconductor switch 13 , which is detected by the failure detection part 40 , is smaller than a predetermined voltage threshold value. When the inter-terminal voltage is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO thereby determining at step 120 that the semiconductor switch 13 is not turned off and hence the semiconductor switch 13 is failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 at step 121 that the switch 13 has a failure.

When the inter-terminal voltage of the semiconductor switch 13 is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, a check result is YES at step 101 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 13 is actually turned off. Then the semiconductor switch 14 is turned on at step 102 .

It is further checked at step 102 A whether the semiconductor switch 14 is actually turned on. Specifically, it is checked whether a voltage (referred to as inter-terminal voltage) between two terminals of the semiconductor switch 14 , which is detected by the failure detection part 40 , is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold voltage value. When the inter-terminal voltage is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, a check result is NO at step 102 A thereby determining at step 120 that the semiconductor switch 14 is not turned on and hence the semiconductor switch 14 is failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 that the switch 14 has a failure at step 121 .

When the inter-terminal voltage of the mechanical switch 12 is lower than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 102 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 14 is actually turned on. Then the mechanical switch 11 is turned on at step 103 .

It is further checked at step 103 A whether the mechanical switch 11 is actually turned off. Specifically, it is checked whether a voltage (referred to as inter-terminal voltage) between two terminals of the mechanical switch 11 , which is detected by the failure detection part 40 , is equal to or larger than a predetermined voltage threshold value. When the inter-terminal voltage is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO thereby determining at step 120 that the mechanical switch 11 is not turned off and hence the mechanical switch 11 is failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 that the switch 11 has a failure at step 121 .

When the inter-terminal voltage of the mechanical switch 11 is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 103 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 13 is actually turned off.

As described above, it is checked at steps 100 A, 101 A, 102 A and 103 A individually whether the switches 11 to 14 have respective failures. When it is determined that any one of the switches has the failure, such a failure is displayed on the display part 50 .

(Switching Processing of FIG. 10 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 . In FIG. 10 , steps 104 A, 105 A, 106 A and 107 A are provided in the flowchart of FIG. 6 .

Step 104 A is for checking whether the mechanical switch 11 is actually turned on after step 104 is executed. Here, similarly to step 100 A, an inter-terminal voltage between the two terminals of the mechanical switch 11 is detected by the failure detection part 40 . When the inter-terminal voltage is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO at step 104 A thereby indicating that the mechanical switch 11 is not actually turned on. Hence the mechanical switch 11 is determined to be failing at step 120 . Then it is displayed on the display part 50 that the switch 11 has a failure at step 121 .

When the inter-terminal voltage of the mechanical switch 11 is lower than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 104 A thereby indicating that the mechanical switch 11 is actually turned on. Then the semiconductor switch 14 is turned off at step 105 .

It is further checked at step 105 A whether the semiconductor switch 14 is actually turned off. Specifically, similarly to step 101 A, the inter-terminal voltage between the two terminals of the semiconductor switch 14 is detected by the failure detection part 40 . When the inter-terminal voltage is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 14 is not actually turned off. It is thus determined that the semiconductor switch 14 is failing at step 120 . Then it is displayed on the display part 50 that the switch 14 has a failure at step 121 .

When the inter-terminal voltage of the semiconductor switch 14 is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 105 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 14 is actually turned off. Then the semiconductor switch 13 is turned on at step 106 .

It is further checked at step 106 A whether the semiconductor switch 13 is actually turned on. Specifically, similarly to step 102 A, the inter-terminal voltage between the two terminals of the semiconductor switch 13 is detected by the failure detection part 40 . When the inter-terminal voltage is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, a check result is NO at step 106 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 13 is not actually turned on. It is thus determined at step 120 that the semiconductor switch 13 is failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 at step 121 that the switch 13 has a failure.

When the inter-terminal voltage of the semiconductor switch 13 is lower than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 106 A thereby indicating that the semiconductor switch 13 is actually turned on. Then the mechanical switch 12 is turned on at step 107 .

At step 107 A, the inter-terminal voltage between the two terminals of the mechanical switch 12 is detected by the failure detection part 40 . When the inter-terminal voltage is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is NO at step 107 A thereby indicating that the mechanical switch 12 is not actually turned off. Thus the mechanical switch 12 is determined at step 120 to be failing. Then it is displayed on the display part 50 that the switch 12 has a failure at step 121 .

When the inter-terminal voltage of the mechanical switch 12 is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, a check result is YES at step 107 A thereby indicating that the mechanical switch 12 is actually turned off.

As described above, it is checked at steps 104 A, 105 A, 106 A and 107 A individually whether the switches 11 to 14 have respective failures. When it is determined that any one of the switches 11 to 14 has the failure, such a failure is displayed on the display part 50 .

According to the fourth embodiment described above, when it is determined that any one of the switches 11 to 14 is failing, such a failure is displayed on the display part 50 . Thus it is possible to notify externally that failure is present in the switches 11 to 14 . Fifth Embodiment

A fifth embodiment is an example, in which the switching state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 is restored when it is determined that any of switches 11 to 14 has a failure at the time of switching of the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side.

The switching processing executed by the control part 60 in the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 . FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing switching processing for switching over the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 side. The switching processing of FIG. 11 and the switching processing of FIG. 12 will be described below.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 11 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 .

In FIG. 11 , steps 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 of FIG. 3 are provided between step 120 and step 121 in FIG. 9 . Steps 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 are executed after checking at steps 100 A, 101 A, 102 A and 103 A and determining at step 120 that either one of the switches 11 to 14 has a failure. Thus the switching state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 is resumed by the switching part 10 . Then step 121 is executed to notify externally.

(Switching Processing of FIG. 12 )

The control part 60 executes the switching processing as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 .

In FIG. 12 , steps 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 of FIG. 2 are provided between step 120 and step 121 in FIG. 10 . Steps 100 , 101 , 102 and 103 are executed after checking at steps 104 A, 105 A, 106 A and 107 A and determining at step 120 that either one of the switches 11 to 14 has a failure. Thus the switching state that the load 3 is connected to the battery 3 a side is resumed by the switching part 10 . Then step 121 is executed

According to the fifth embodiment described above, the control part 60 can return the switching state to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 when it is determined that any of the switches 11 to 14 has a failure at the time of switching of the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side. The control part 60 can return the switching state to the state that that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side when it is determined that any switch 11 to 14 has a failure at the time of switching of the switching state from the state that the load 3 is connected to battery 2 a side to the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 . Sixth Embodiment

A sixth embodiment is an example, in which the switching state is switched over from the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 to the state that the load 3 is connected to the secondary battery 2 a side, when the mechanical switch 11 or the semiconductor switch 13 is failing in the state that the load 3 is connected to the power supply system 4 in the first embodiment.

The description continues in the full USPTO document.